Benedict sings praises of lay movements

Published: 05 February 2007

Praising lay movements as a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church, Pope
Benedict says that communion between bishops and the movements could be
the spark needed for a renewed commitment to "proclaiming and
witnessing the Gospel of hope and love".

Catholic News Service
reports that Pope Benedict told a joint audience of nearly 200 bishops
linked to the Focolare and Sant Egidio movements that bishop can turn
to Catholic lay movements not only when he needs an organised group to
implement his pastoral plans, but also when he needs to care for his
own soul.

When a movement gathers its "bishop-friends" together,
it helps them experience "a more intense communion of hearts, a
stronger mutual support and a greater shared commitment to showing that
the church is a place of prayer and charity, a house of mercy and
peace," the Pope said.

The Pope says that from his days as a
professor in Germany he has been convinced that "really, the movements
are a gift of the Holy Spirit to the church."

The fact that
the movements have reached out to bishops who draw strength from their
spirituality and activities proves that "the diversity and unity of
gifts and ministries are inseparable in the life of the church," he
said.

Pope Benedict said the variety of lay movements responds to the variety of needs and blessings found among the world's peoples.

"In
the rich Western world where, even though a culture of relativism
exists, at the same time there is a widespread desire for spirituality,
and your movements witness to the joy of the faith and the beauty of
being Christian," he said.

In the world's poorest countries, he
said, "they communicate the message of solidarity and make themselves
the neighbours of the poor and the weak" with love that is both human
and divine.

He prayed that in forming solid friendships, the
bishops and the movements would help each other in the work of
evangelisation, service to the poor and peacemaking.